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OLIVE GARDEN LAUNCHES THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE MENU EVOLUTION IN ITS HISTORY

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2014) - Leading Italian restaurant Olive Garden unveiled this week the most significant menu evolution in the restaurant's history,
including more than 20 new menu items that broaden the choice, variety and value it offers guests, prepared with new cooking techniques that accentuate new flavors.
Olive Garden's new menu is designed to appeal to the evolving palettes and preferences of casual dining guests,
while providing guests with more options to customize their meal experience at both lunch and dinner.

NEW DINNER MENU HIGHLIGHTS

"Cucina Mia" Section: Introducing a new menu section that gives guests the ability to create their own entrée from a variety of six pastas and five made-from-scratch ― sauces for only $9.99 every day.

Small Plates: Expanding the Tastes of Italy section to include eight small plate dishes for guests who want to explore different flavors.

Specialty Entrees: Bringing new culinary-forward entrees to the chicken and seafood sections of the menu, enhanced by preparation on a new Piastra flat-top grill for a more evenly cooked, tender and juicy taste.

Antipasti and Caprese Salads: Creating new ways for guests to enjoy Olive Garden's popular signature salad through the addition of antipasti or caprese toppings.

NEW LUNCH MENU HIGHLIGHTS

Lunch Experience: Recognizing the busy schedules of lunch guests, Olive Garden is debuting a new lunch menu and enhanced service steps that provide busy guests with a variety of choices for a quick and satisfying meal.

Tuscan Trio Combinations: Enhancing the popular soup, salad and breadsticks lunch by offering guests an additional pasta side, Small Plate or new salad topping.

Sandwich & Flatbread Combinations: Giving guests more handheld options with sandwich and flatbread combinations served with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks.

With this evolution, guests will continue to find their Olive Garden favorites on the menu ― including Fettucine Alfredo and Lasagna Classico ―
and all entrees are served with choice of homemade soup or garden-fresh salad and unlimited garlic breadsticks, which are baked fresh every 15 minutes.

"Our new menu is designed to give our guests an enhanced experience by giving them new flavors, more variety and everyday value," said Jay Spenchian,
executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden. "We're staying true to the fresh, simple Italian food, while creating more ways to delight our guests."

For more information and to find your nearest Olive Garden restaurant, visit OliveGarden.com.

ABOUT OLIVE GARDEN:

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with more than 800 restaurants, more than 96,000 employees and more than $3.6 billion in annual sales.
Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), which owns and operates more than 2,100 restaurants that generate over $8.5 billion in annual sales.
Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 200,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people.
In 2014, Darden was named to the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for the fourth year in a row.
Our restaurant brands ― Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V's and Yard House ―
reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us.
Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.